Spacers: The First Frontier

Today was the big day of initial activity at the orthodontist for my dear Lovely K. She had spacers put on her teeth today that she will wear until next Wednesday when they put on her braces. I tried to make light (boy did I try!) of what she had heard about spacers being so horrid. But Lovely K is not the type of child to let this type of information slip past her. She thought about it and thought about it. The closer we got to her appointment, the more she was thinking about it. And talking about it. And saying how content she was with crooked teeth and all that.

Now I did not have spacers. I guess that just wasn't done back then. Or as Big E told Lovely K this morning, "They hadn't invented spacers yet when Mama was young." (I love how my kids think I came over on the Mayflower.) I have no first hand experience with spacers. I didn't really know what they were before today. And basically, for the rest of you who rode on the Mayflower with me, they put little fat rubber bands between her back teeth. They are supposed to be making space (hence the name) so that next week's visit will be easier.

As soon as the first one was put into her mouth,
Lovely K proceeded to tell the lady that
"it hurts."
She continued to convey this message
every couple of seconds
as though the woman wasn't hearing her.
There were a few tears shed.
But the spacers got put in---all eleven of them.
Tonight she has complained quite a bit about them hurting.
I gave her a couple of baby aspirin.
If she's really hurting tomorrow, I'll give her some Ibuprofen.
I don't think I've ever given one of my kids
something like that for a reason other than a fever
---and it's been a long time since that has happened.
(I praise God for the good health He has given us!
And may we be good stewards of it!)

Lovely K and I had lunch together before going to the dreadful appointment. It was kind of nice, just she and I. We talked a little about girly things. It's so strange to me lately that she is looking so much older. She's not the same little girl she has been. Sometimes I think in my mind I still view her as Sweet T's age. She has always been such a joy, so full of life and imagination and silliness. And now she is becoming such a help to me. She helps me so much all the time; I am afraid sometimes I am not even aware of how dependent I am on her help. But I notice at my mother's house she is always asking my mom if there's anything she can do to help her. If my mom is cooking, Lovely K goes and puts on an apron and comes in there to help. She has a servant's heart. She is just such a blessing.

Are you loving these crisp days as much as I am?
When I went out on the front porch tonight
to call the kids in for supper,
it was so cool and lovely outside.
I just stood there for a moment soaking it in,
thinking that these are the best days.
They are my favorites for sure!

Okay---two more tid bits of good news
and I will leave you alone.

#1 The new wall color----I LOVE it. I do. It is not what I expected, but I love it. I am so pleased with it. It just gives a completely different look to the place. Lloyd Dobbler got all the living room done (and furniture put back, bless his heart) last night. He's starting on the hallway to the entry tonight. The entry and the stairwell and the upstairs hallway are all kind of a part of each other (and the living room). So they are all getting this color. And I can't wait to see the finished project. I'm very pleased with it.

#2 Remember me griping (what? me gripe? surely not?!?!) the other day about having to wait for a response to a certain situation? I was tired of waiting. I wanted an answer. I wanted to know where things were going. I hate waiting. Well, we kind of found out more information today. Not quite an answer, but almost. Lloyd Dobbler wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate this tonight. I want to wait until it's definite and final before I put on my dancing shoes. But I am so encouraged to know the direction this matter is headed. We have really been praying over this issue and weighing it back and forth and trying to approach it from every angle. And in the end, each time I just end up saying "Thy will be done" (What does Jan Karon call that in the Mitford books? the prayer that cannot fail?) because I know God knows what is best for us and I trust Him.

So that's that.
Beautiful daughter.
Beautiful weather.
Beautiful paint color.
Beautiful answer to prayer.

Who could ask for anything more?

Do You Hear What I Hear?

I know that the songs on the juke box most recently have not been favorites with some of you guys. I think of that every time I get on here and "Get Down" would start up. That's why I moved it away from the #1 spot. I would love to have seen the look on your face the first time you heard that. I wonder how fast some of you turned it off. Did you even listen to it one time? I love that song. I know that not everyone does, but I do. I love it.
Because sometimes I do get down
and the Lord lifts me up.
And it's a good thing.

And what about the next song?
God of Wonders.

"Lord of all creation,
of water, earth, and sky.
The heavens are your tabernacle
Glory to the Lord on High!
God of wonders,
beyond our galaxy
You are Holy!
Holy!
The universe declares Your majesty
You are Holy!
HOLY!"

I think that is one of the
most beautiful songs
ever.
The words are GREAT.
The voices are the best possible combination.
I just LOVE that song.
Have you listened to it?

Oh, and by the same people who brought you "Get Down" is "Ocean Floor." Have you listened to the words of that song? Have you been forgiven of anything that you are so glad to know is removed from you as far as the East is from the West? That song will drag the praise out of anyone who has been forgiven. If you've never sinned and needed to be forgiven, it might not mean much to you. I love the message of that song.

"They are behind you. They'll never find you.
They're on the bottom of the ocean floor.
Your sins are forgotten.
They're on the bottom of the ocean floor.
Your sins are erased. They are no more.
They're out on the ocean floor."

I was just thinking about these songs,
listening to them and enjoying them and praising God in my heart. I talked to somebody on the phone about them. She was a Dear Reader who was getting a blessing out of them. But we both knew that there are many other Christians who wouldn't listen to them for anything because they have....you know....a beat....and drums and stuff.
I am not getting into that debate.
I just haven't come across the verses in Scripture that have dictated the rules about music that some people cling to more strongly than the rules and instructions that are clearly spelled out in Scripture. You know when something is inappropriate. If you are a believer, you have the Holy Spirit in you to help you make those judgements.
I'm not going to listen to these women singing "praise songs" in husky, sexy voices. That makes me sick. What are they thinking? Wait, I said I wasn't going to get into any of that. So I won't. I just hope that maybe some of these songs are a blessing to some of you.


And you know what else?
I love to play Elenore by the Turtles really really really loud.
It's currently #2 if you want to give it a try.
The louder the better.
Trust me on that one.

Let Them Eat Cake

I'm sharing another recipe!
And this is another good one.
If you like chocolate cake, you've come to the right place.
If you like ganache-type icings, well, this is
the cheat of all cheating ways to make that. Two ingredients
and practically no effort.
I would say that anybody could make this...but I have
learned that there are some people who
really should stay out of the kitchen.
I won't name names,
but my younger brother was here at the house
the other day while I was gone. He wanted to make
some brownies and I had one of those box mixes on hand
that I set out for him. I actually thought he'd let Lovely K
make them, and there might have been a better result
if he had. But he made them, and though he swears
he followed the directions to the very letter,
they weren't right.
They wanted to stay a liquid.
I think I baked them three or four times
the length of time the box said to do it
before they finally gave up on their life-long dream
to be the famous Liquid Brownies.
So apparently not everyone can cook.
Even with a mix.

But this cake--oh, it's a walk in the park.
And YOU can do it.
I know you can.
As long as you are not my little brother.



Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

1 pkg (8 squares) semi sweet baking chocolate, divided
1 pkg chocolate cake mix
1 pkg (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding and pie filling
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 tub (8oz) frozen Cool Whip
2 Tbsp sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans. Chop 2 of the chocolate squares and set them aside. Beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in chopped chocolate. Spoon into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes (or until wooden toothpick comes out clean). Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen cakes from side of pans; invert onto racks and gently remove cake pans. Cool cakes completely.
Place frozen whipped topping and remaining 6 chocolate squares in microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 2 minutes (stopping to stir after 1 minute) or until chocolate is completely melted and mixtures stirs smooth. Let this stand about 15 minutes to thicken. Place 1 cake layer on serving platter. Top with 1/4 of the chocolate mixture and then place the 2nd cake layer on top of this. Spread top and sides with remaining chocolate mixture. Garnish with almonds. Store in fridge.



This cake is not only easy and good, but very attractive.
So have your cake and eat it too!

Oh cake and friends
we should choose with care.

Not always the fanciest
cake that's there

Is the best to eat!
And the plainest friend--

Is sometimes the finest
in the end.

---M. Sangster

You're Gonna Love These

I mentioned that part of our yummy meal
this past Sunday was
"Make Ahead Potatoes."
These are also sometimes called
"Holiday Potatoes."
They are so easy to make and have out of the way
ahead of time. I hadn't made them in a long time
and they were so good on Sunday.
I could have eaten them all!
So I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Make Ahead Potatoes

10 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup (80z) sour cream
8oz cream cheese, softened
6 Tbsp butter, divided
2 Tbsp dried minced onion
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Paprika

Cook potatoes for 20-25 minutes, until tender.
Drain and mash.
Add sour cream, cream cheese, 4 Tbsp butter,
onion, salt, eggs, and milk.
Mix until smooth
(and cream cheese and butter are melted).
Spread into 9x13 dish.
Melt remaining 2 Tbsp butter and drizzle
over potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika.
Refrigerate or bake immediately.
Bake covered at 350° for 40 minutes,
uncover and bake 20 minutes longer.
If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature
for 30 minutes before baking.
Can be made in advance and frozen for later use.



I made it Sunday morning and put it in the oven
(with the delayed start) when we left for church,
letting it cook the entire time with the foil on.
It was fine this way.

Just be warned, if you make these,
you may very well want to eat the entire amount.
They are really good.
I hope you like them!

We now interrupt this regularly scheduled school year...

...for an UN-scheduled fall break.

A break. Or at least a mini break. That's what we are having. A little bit of a break. This week was going to be messed up anyway, so I think we are just doing like "half days" each day because that makes the kids think they aren't doing school at all. That's what we did yesterday. Big E read all of that library book and you just have no idea what an accomplishment it is to have that done in ONE day. He hasn't hit that point yet where books suck him in. Lovely K is there. She likes the reading, gobbles up books that interest her. She didn't at his age though. So I will just bide my time with him on this matter and see if something kicks in later on.

Why am I talking about reading?

I was telling you that we are taking a Mini Fall Break this week. Yesterday we just did grammar and spelling and independent reading. Half days of school....except tomorrow which was a planned day of NO school. It's the first orthodontist trip where something will be done to my poor little girl's mouth. And then if she's up for it, we will go shopping for her brother's birthday.

So a break? Hooray!
A break is always nice.

Lloyd Dobbler painted trim last night from the time he got home until I was asleep in the bed. I'm supposed to pick up several gallons of the new wall color today so he can start that portion of the painting tonight. I really hate picking out a new color when I'm not totally sold on it. And it's not that I'm not sold on this color. My issue is that I want this shade that is kind of leaning towards the brown family but not too brown, not too dark. And I just hope when it's all over the wall, that it doesn't seem to have gray hues in it. We've had a couple of places painted with the color, a chunk here and a chunk there, to see if we like it. I think so. But it's kind of hard to know until the whole wall is painted. We are biting the bullet though and just doing it. So if my next post is just one big scream, you'll know the paint color isn't quite right. And this will be like almost 50% of the house because of this open floor plan. By the way, I don't like the open-ness. If I were building another house, I would specifically search out a LESS open plan.

It got chilly last night.
I don't know if it got down to the 40's or not,
but it did cool off more than usual.
I love that feeling of waking up to a crispness
in the morning air.
Now if the day time temperatures
would just take a step or two down,
everything would be lovely.

Everything is lovely anyway though.

We are just so blessed.
Do you ever sit back and look at your life
and really think about how blessed you are?
I am blessed beyond measure
and I have just had a truck load of Grace dumped on me.
I have said it before, but I know that I am
a spoiled rotten child of God.
I don't know why God is sooo good to me,
but I thank Him and praise Him for it.

Today I am going to the chiropractor.
I am really thankful for that too.

Monday, Monday... Can't Trust That Day

Sigh.

Why is it that whenever I try to make an impromptu appointment (is that an impossibility? perhaps I should say a "last minute" appointment?) with my dear chiropractor, he has decided to take the day off? Why does it happen this way? All day yesterday Lloyd Dobbler would tell me "you need to go to the chiropractor" every time I walked past him. So I decided last night we would do that; we would forgo school today and make the trek to the chiropractor far far away and also do our regular library visit a couple of days early. But no. He's not going to be in the office today. And now I have no plan for our day on the back burner and I am just kind of ready for this day to be over.

I've got Big E finishing a library book I wanted him to read and Lovely K is doing a bit of grammar. And I have still got a towel on my head. Just between you and me, I would like to just sit and cross stitch all day and maybe watch a movie or read a book. It's one of those days. I would like to twitch my nose like Samantha and have the ironing done and the other stuff done and the kids happily and profitably entertained. I told you, I'm really struggling lately with not wanting to get stuff done. My get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went.


We're also waiting to hear some news that could have a big effect on our little family. And I am not the type of person who doesn't mind waiting indefinitely for a response. I like to know ASAP. I hate waiting. I hate wondering which way it will go. I want to know if I need to bake a celebratory cake or put on my sack cloth and ashes. This has been dragged out for weeks and I would just like to quit talking about it and wondering about. I want to know which way it's going. Yes or no. I'd just like to know.

Well, I do have to run the errands that were going to be tacked onto the chiropractor visit so I might as well get up and put on a happy face and get going. I feel like stopping in somewhere to get some sort of coffee-related drink. How would it be to replace all soft drinks in my life with coffee products? Is one healthier than the other? I would be best off with neither in my life. I was reading this article yesterday that mentioned that in the early years of Coca-cola, that drink contained COCAINE as one of the ingredients. Cocaine! Am I the only one who did not know this? Of course today we freak out at the thought of that---talk about your energy drink. Mercy. And I'm just picturing normal people like you and me drinking that and not knowing we were using COCAINE. Good grief. But I guess I also didn't realize that at this same time, you could buy cocaine at your local drug store. And some people used it as an appetite suppressant. I guess so. And they are not sure about just when the cocaine was taken out of the Coca-cola.So have a Coke and a smile.
And possibly a cocaine overdose.

It's strange to look back now at things people did in the past (and not always all that long ago) that we just think is horrible today. Makes you wonder what we are doing today that people in years to come will be rolling their eyes at and wondering how we could have been so dumb. I think that's why I try to avoid most medications. I don't want to be putting anything in my body that I don't have to. I don't trust drug companies and I don't like doctors (except my family doctor). I don't want to approach a health problem with a chemical combo when there might be a more natural, practical way of correcting things.

Oh yeah--I checked the weather
----it IS supposed to get down
into the 40's tonight.
I think they said it would get to 45°.
Isn't that great?
I hope it does!

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

Hello Dear Reader.
It is Sunday night
and I am fixing to get into my stretchy gown
and climb into my bed
and snore for several hours.
Yes, I said SNORE.
It's my newly acquired skill.
This is what pregnancy does to me.
And evidently the more children I have,
the more I snore.
There wasn't any snoring that anyone noted
when I was pregnant with Lovely K.
When I was pregnant with Big E,
it seems like there was an mention or two of an occasional rumble.
Then when I was pregnant with Sweet T,
Lloyd Dobbler seemed to take more note of my nocturnal noises.
But they didn't cause any real disruption.
With this pregnancy,
oh my goodness,
it is taking over our lives.
I have caused Lloyd Dobbler to wake up.
I have woken my self up.
I laid down the other day in the guest room to read something,
didn't even think I was asleep,
I must have dozed off for about 3.5 minutes,
and Lovely K came in there to close the door
because she said she was watching TV
and she could hear me SNORING.
Oh my goodness.

A well-known snorer told me this weekend
that this is what I get for making fun of her for snoring.
What can I say?
I just hope it's part of the pregnancy
and that it goes away.

Speaking of noises, I heard the voice of a gal whose blog I read faithfully. She posted a little video on youtube so I watched it. I was so thrown by the voice. And I don't know why. I guess you just get an idea of a person in your head and then when you see how reality is, you have a hard time adjusting. I feel like I am going to have to wait a few days before I read her blog again because the whole time I am reading, I'll be thinking about the sound of her voice and how it doesn't fit my mental image of her. Even now, I keep thinking about it. How can that be her voice?

This has happened before---I heard this lady's voice when she posted a video that had her in it and it was soooo not the voice in my head for her. I also thought she was much older before I saw and heard her. But heaven help us all if you were to hear my voice. I never think about it being bad until I think about the fact that no one has ever told me I'd make a good DJ (or do we have to call them radio personalities now?) or asked me to narrate an audio book or sing in public.
Whenever I happen to hear my recorded voice, I contemplate a vow of silence right there on the spot. But really, me and silence would not be a good pairing. It just wouldn't work out. I would have made a terrible monk.

Tomorrow we will not be doing school. As soon as his office opens, I will be calling my dear little chiropractor to get an appointment and then I will have to load up my children and head to that stupid far away tiny town where my dear little chiropractor moved his practice. (I'll be near you, Laura.) I have had such a time with my lower back and hips this weekend. I've been walking like somebody whose been riding a horse for six months. I really need to be adjusted. So tomorrow is the day.

Then on Wednesday of this week,
we will also NOT have school because Lovely K
has the first of a series of appointments with
the orthodontist.
This Wednesday they will put
spacers on her back teeth. Next Wednesday
she will have the spacers removed
and the braces put on.
So it's all about to happen for her.
Lloyd Dobbler and I have felt it best
not to talk about the
unpleasantness
that can be a part of the whole orthodontial
experience. We know our daughter.
She has a tendency to over react.
So we just haven't said much more than
the fact that there will be some discomfort involved
but it's all a part of the process.
It's all for the greater good.
The less known the better.
I would probably have talked to her about it
on the way to the appointment on Wednesday,
not giving her time to dwell upon it.
Today at church she had a little light shed
on the situation by two boys
whose sister and mother both just recently got braces.
They had to talk about the agony of the spacers
and how it is the worst part of life on earth
and how they are surprised
that their mother and sister
are still living today.
So of course Lovely K has had several run throughs
of her speech about how she doesn't want braces
and how happy she is with crooked teeth.
She's even said,
"This is the way God made my teeth
and I am fine with it."

We're still going to the orthodontist.

I got up this morning and made a yummy meal for our lunch. I baked a ham and made holiday potatoes and a Waldorf salad and green beans and a great chocolate cake. Everything was pretty much ready before we went to church. I had to ice the cake when we got home, but it's that quickie shiny chocolate icing you make with just Cool Whip and squares of baking chocolate. It only took a few minutes. Our pastor and his wife came over and ate with us. This is how comfortable we are with them (or what slobs we have turned into): there was a pile of folded laundry on the coach the entire time they were here. But they said the meal was great and so all is well. Even though we didn't have any rolls.

I was in the nursery during church today,
but it was the last time I'm going to do it
until after the baby is born.
And I found out today that another lady at church,
a couple who just started coming recently,
is pregnant.
She is the same age as me
and this is her first baby.
They are a cute couple.
This is a honey moon baby for sure
---when she told me she was pregnant this morning,
she said, "Well, I've been married for eight weeks
and I am six weeks pregnant."
I am excited for them.
They seem so happy.

So my week is already kind of chopped up. Two days messed up in the schooling department. Maybe we'll just finish reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tomorrow when we are not on the road or at the chiropractor's office. They are enjoying that book more than any other I can recall reading to them. Even Sweet T is listening and getting into it. I think the parts talking about how poor Charlie and his family are in the beginning of the book have been somewhat sobering to Lovely K and Big E. I can tell it bothers Big E when it is talking about that; he has that face where you can tell when he is thinking about something.

Somebody said today that the temperature
is going to get down into the 40's at night this week.
I don't see that happening somehow.
Not that I don't want it.
You know me-- bring on the crisp weather.
And now that I have packed away
most of the summer clothes,
I am ready for it to be cooler
so my kids can actually wear the clothes that are
in their closets and drawers.

I hope you had a nice weekend,
Dear Reader.
I hope that you are looking out at a good,
productive week ahead of you.
I hope you are enjoying
the changing seasons
as much as I am.
I hope you had a good Sunday.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

...the pregnant woman is snoring.
ha ha

No, the pregnant woman is not snoring. She is awake. But it was so cozy to wake up this morning and hear the rain pouring outside and to just lay there snug and cozy in my bed. I could have dozed off again, but I didn't know if soccer was rained out at that point and I didn't want to be the weak link in the "getting there on time" chain. I know most people are sick of the rain and I do hate the flooding and all the damage that it is doing, but I like the rain. I like the coziness. As much as I like to see my children play, I love having soccer games canceled. It's like someone says "Here's three hours that you didn't have before."

Lloyd Dobbler was up very early this morning and headed down the road to purchase some new chickens for us. I haven't waded out to the barn yet to see them. I will probably wait until it's not raining cats and dogs to do that. It's so unpleasant to have a cat and/or a dog fall on your head. But we now have six new layers and evidently our nice old faithful chicken who lived through The Great Chicken Massacre of '09 is not welcoming the new girls with open wings. Lloyd Dobbler said she was in there beating up on them and trying to establish herself as queen bee. Why do chickens do that? What is up with "the pecking order?"

"Why can't they be friends?
Why can't they be friends?"
(are you singing that like the song?
that's how I typed it)

So I got up and leisurely made a nice breakfast for my kiddos. We had sausage and fried potatoes and eggs. And two chapters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory after today's Bible passages. So nice to have a slow morning with nothing standing there tapping it's toes and looking at its watch with a sigh, urging us to hurry up and get to the next thing.

Lloyd Dobbler is going to start painting today. I have selected this color that I hope is not a big mistake because it is going all through the main part of the house. I just hope that it really is more brown than gray when it is all said and done. Because we'll have to live with it for a while even if it is not. Cross your fingers.

I am going to work on lessons for next week's school and the menu for next week and the lovely old checkbook. I have a pot of beans and ham I am fixing to put on to cook and I have a big ham thawing out for our lunch tomorrow. I think I am going to make holiday potatoes and a chocolate cake to go with it for our lunch tomorrow. That will be easy. I need to go to the grocery store. I need to find the missing box of maternity clothes that has my jeans and comfy pants in it. I want to sit down and work on my latest cross stitching project for a couple of hours. So much to do. But none of it really stressful or pressing. My pace. My choice. If everyone else under my roof will just chill out too and enjoy this day, that will be good. Then I won't have to kill anyone.

I hope you are having a nice day, Lovely Reader. Don't let the rain get you down. Enjoy the day. Do something you love. Maybe it's not raining where you are. But it feels like it's raining all over the world at the moment.

This Week in Pictures

I'm sure you have heard about the monsoon that has been pouring rain all over the south lately. We have received our fair share here, though thankfully we haven't had the flooding they have experienced in other places. Everything is very green right now and growing heartily because of the rain and the slightly cooler temperatures. Our yard is very green, but these green trees will soon be breaking out their fall wardrobe.

I have whipped out the fall decor here at the homestead. I was so happy to lug this tub full of stuff from the basement the other day. Now we have pumpkins here and there and a scarecrow or two. I usually won't set out my two pilgrim couples until after Halloween, but this year I did. So it's all out. I love fall. Have I said that lately? It is my favorite time of year!

We did the most fall-ish thing of all and went to our county fair this week. The kids and I went on Tuesday morning. I like to go during the day and look at the exhibits and the animals and all that---and AVOID the midway altogether. I have no desire to go near those nasty rides or those lovely people who work there. I don't want to throw a golf ball into a bucket and win a fish that will be dead before I get to my car. I don't want to do any of that part of the fair. Does this make me old? I loved that part of the fair when I was a kid. It didn't seem so seedy and nasty and full of potential evil then. So either I am getting old or it has gotten worse. Or maybe a little bit of both.

Lloyd Dobbler's okra won second place.
Sweet T has said all that morning
before we went to the fair:
"If Daddy's okra wins a ribbon,
I am going to be soooo proud of Daddy."
And we all are.


Poor Lovely K's brownies were on the bottom of a pile of brownies. Can you see them there? They are the very bottom layer of that stack. I felt so bad for her, but she was a real good sport. I was very proud of her too. And if they had actually taken bites of the brownies (what are they judging them on if they are not sampling them?), I think she might not have been on the bottom of the pile. Her's were really good.

And I thought I would give you lucky people a glimpse of me in my "advanced maternal age." I am hearing everything from "You'll never make it to January" to "you're so small." I guess the truth lies somewhere in between.


I'm getting the fat hands and the fat face and starting to think how nice it will be slim again someday. But I am enjoying this pregnancy. My sweet baby is being fearfully and wonderfully made inside me. I always feel like this is a special time of partnership with God.

So that's the gist of my week.
How has yours been?

180 x 2 =

Here's my problem:

One day we do school in a way that would make
Charlotte Mason proud. The next day?
I want to take the day off. I had no idea I would be
so tired and so mentally scrambled with this pregnancy.
I wasn't this way before.
I'm glad I took pains to plan
a less-stressful school year for us,
but even with this kinder, gentler plan in place,
I feel like I am just moment by moment
having the energy drained from me.

I know Lloyd Dobbler can tell
just by looking at me some days.
By the time we have made it
through the day
and I'm setting supper on the table
and he comes in,
I probably do look like
I've been run over by a truck.

Sometimes that's exactly how I feel.
And I keep asking myself
"What is different this time?"
Is it the fourth pregnancy?
Is that just the one that knocks your socks off?
Is it my age?---remember, I've reached
"advanced maternal age"
according to the medical community.
Is it homeschooling?
(last pregnancy I had only a kindergartner
and that wasn't exactly taxing
though I made a mountain out of
every mole hill in my inexperience and ignorance)
Is it seven hundred and forty two stairs in my house?
(we always lived in a one-story house before)
Is it that I was so out of shape
when I got pregnant this time?
Is it the time of year?
Is it my new talent for snoring like..
...like...like a person who snores a lot?
Is it the three children that are already here
doing everything in their power to turn my hair gray?
Is it that lack of Vitamin D still plaguing me?
Is it true--that study that we heard
on some news program once
that said for every male child a woman has
it sucks something like 2.5 years off of her life?
(because every time I think of that,
I just picture me on that machine
that the albino used in The Princess Bride
to suck years off of Wesley's life)

Is it all in my head?
What is it?

So if we were actually to follow the pattern
of one day on/one day off in our schooling,
how long will that take us to finish a school year?
180 x 2?
Hmmmm.....I don't think we'll go that route.

Fortunately we have been on track so far. I am so glad
we started early. We are about a month ahead
of where we would normally be. So I don't have to
break my neck or freak out or anything. No midnight sessions.
We don't want to waste days either,
but we don't have to kill ourselves.
We are doing fine, plodding along.
We can take a day off here and there.
That's why we started early, isn't it?

And my goodness, next week is October!
Did you know that?
Next week is October!
I can't believe it.

Time keeps on slippin'
slippin'
slippin'
into the future.

But things are on track.
I don't know why I am acting like they aren't. We aren't behind. We aren't missing appointments. We aren't going without meals or clean clothes or anything like that. I'm staying somewhat on top of things (yesterday we got the bathrooms cleaned and most of the house vacuumed in addition to our schoolwork---and had a lovely supper to boot,
thanks to my Dear Friend the crock pot).
How many times each week do I sit down
and pour over my calender
and make lists and plot out my days?
I'm really trying to stay on top of things here.

And maybe that's it.

Even if I feel like the semi has plowed me down,
I just need to keep going.
I just need to keep doing the next thing.
How hard is that?

I'm still thinking what a wonderful world it would be
if I were Carol Brady and had
Alice living there just off the kitchen
ready to do all the time consuming house stuff.

Fall in Love

It's here! It's today!

It is officially fall.

Today is the first day of my absolute favorite time of the year!
And it's in the air, guys, it really is (My family has sneezed more in the past week than I did in the first twenty-five years of my life). A couple of trees are starting to get their color thing going. I've seen an anxious leaf or two drift to the ground. People are selling mums on every corner. I'm already seeing jack-o-lanters on porches. The Tennessee Vols lost a game Saturday (that's how you really know it's this tiem of year, when they show up with promise and ambition and never quite seem to win). The orchards are selling apples by the ton. Sunday I wore a corduroy skirt....but that was a matter of necessity more than choice (I'll tell you about that in a minute).
It's fall, Dear Reader.
Break out the soup and comfort food.
Get a pumpkin on your porch and some mums in your pots.
Pack away those shorts and get out your jeans and your sweaters.

This week is also the county fair here in my tiny town. We are going this morning to see if Lovely K won anything for the brownies she entered. This has been on her mind constantly. They turned them in Sunday (Lloyd Dobbler also entered some of his burgundy okra) and she has been so concerned about the judging and the placing and all that ever since then. They were supposed to be judge yesterday sometime, late in the day. I told them we'd go over this morning and check it all out. Of course they wanted to go at 7:30 this morning. They seem to forget from day to day that we have school to do!

Here's what I do
when the best season of the year
begins to show up:
I start cooking
and making hearty meals
and breads
and I want the house to be cozy
and I light candles
and I play Christmas music.
You heard me.
CHRISTMAS MUSIC.
Before you scoff, let me tell you that this is the time to get the most out of Christmas music. This is the time of year that you can listen to it and enjoy it and not have to think about all the other stuff that goes along with Christmas,
the busy-ness
and craziness
that gets tacked on to that poor holiday.
Christmas music is some of my favorite stuff and I'm not going to wait until after Thanksgiving to play it. I never have. Now my family may pretend that I am damaging their collective psyches.....but don't pay any attention to them. They reap the benefits of Christmas music, the cozy atmosphere, the happy mother, the pre-season joy and mirth.
And here's how thoughtful I am:
not wanting to cause a shock to their systems,
I have started out with instrumental music.
So rather than having Bing Crosby
talking right in their little faces,
they have just had lovely instrumental music
that might cause them to pause and think
"Is that Do You Hear What I Hear?"
But it's not going to last long.
While I do have some great
instrumental-only Christmas albums,
I am ready to break out the others.
I'm ready to hear that English boys choir
sing with Michael W. Smith
and I'm ready to hear Dean Martin
crooning the weather report
and Glenn Miller's band play Jingle Bells
and I am ready to hear Alabama
sing about Thistlehair the Christmas Bear
and John Denver sing Christmas for Cowboys.
I love it all.

Why, oh why
did she wear a corduroy skirt
to church on Sunday?
I know that's what you are asking yourselves.
I know you are on the edge of your seat.
Well, just take a deep breath.
I will tell you.
On Friday I had to go to The Big City to a cardiology specialist. Seems there's a rumor going around that I might be heartless and they are wanting to check this out. They did a number of tests there on Friday and they sent me home wearing a stupid heart monitor for 48 hours. I felt like I had a VCR under my shirt. And I'm going to tell you what---several baths and showers later (I couldn't take either a bath or shower while I had that stupid thing on) I still have sticky stuff on me from those stupid probes and the tape. I've tried alcohol and witch hazel to take it off. I've scrubbed myself raw in the shower. It's still there.
What removes the last traces of this junk?
Does anybody know?

If you've ever sported an ever-expanding pregnant belly, you know how important wardrobe can be at times. Along with the VCR tapped to my chest and the 87 yards of black wires that came with it, there was this little box that had to be hooked to my waist or thereabout. Did I mention the ever-expanding pregnant belly? I haven't had a waist since July. And just FYI, you can't clip this thing to maternity underwear. Trust me on this one. It is futile. So I couldn't wear a dress, I had to have an outfit with a top and a bottom.....so that there would be some place in the middle to clip my little black box.

So I put much thought into what I could wear Sunday (the only day I really had to be seen in public while wearing this device) that would be functional (a place to clip the beeper-thing) and yet discreet (I didn't want to discuss it with every other person). I had every intention of getting through the day with no one knowing I had this thing on. So I had this corduroy maternity skirt of chocolate brown and I had this long sleeved pink shirt that looked good with it---and had a high neckline and a flared-out shirt tail to give me room for the 87 yards of cable. I also selected fall-ish clothes for my family that morning so that we would just look like we were all as a family embracing the new season with our clothing selections. Normally I wouldn't be wearing corduroy until a threat of snow or the bitter cold of February. Especially when pregnant and completely intolerant to heat. Lloyd Dobbler complained all morning--as he is want to do from time to time---about my choices. He said we would all melt. I said we would all melt together. It's all in how you look at it, isnt' it?

So anyway, imagine my surprise
when this lady walks up to me
at church between the services and says
"Oh, I can see your heart monitor."
I think my teeth fell out of my head.
I didn't know anyone knew I had it
and I sure didn't think
anyone was getting a glimpse of it.
I felt like an Agent Secret Man
whose cover had been blown.
How did James Bond do it?

I just realized that I am dragging this out like there's a point to it. There's no point. There's no funny bit to wrap it up with. I'm not headed anywhere with this story. I don't know why I launched into it except that I mentioned corduroy when talking about all the lovely things of this Autumn Season. This is how it ends: the 48 hours ran out while we were in church. I came home and ripped that thing off of me and stuck it in the mailer and sent it on it's merry way back to The Big City. And then I went to a party for my aunt and uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary.

It's very gray and gloomy here today and
I am loving it!
People keep saying it's going to be an early winter and I am thinking "bring it on!" Please don't remind me of this during the winter when I am endlessly complaining about the nasty, cold weather. I do HATE the winter. I don't really want it for more than a day. But the fall, now that I could take for a very long time.
Light a candle.
Make a cup of hot tea.
Break out a cross stitching project.
Let your kids watch
"It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"
for the 17,046th time
even though they just finished reading the book
by that same name.
Listen to Dinah Shore sing an old holiday standard.
Ah, yes, I am so happy to be right where we are.
The first day of fall.
It's here.
Soak it in.

You Know What Rainy Days and Mondays Did For Karen Carpenter

Do you ever feel like you are your own worst enemy?
Sometimes I know that I am. Not that I am sabotaging my whole life over here, but knowing that I am the kind of person who gets launched into the depths of despair by small things, who gets very discouraged by bad starts, who can't stand for things to be wrong and off-track-----knowing this, you would think that I would go out of my way to get things started on the right track, the right foot, as good a start as possible.

And yet, no.

I shoot myself in the foot
and then stand around mad because I've been shot.
And yet I am doing it to myself.

Today I am also thinking a lot about Paul in the Bible
saying that he sometimes did the very things
he didn't want to do and didn't do the things he wanted to do.
And that is so often me. More often than I like to admit.
And today I am just very aware of it.

"Oh wretched man that I am."
Isn't that what Paul said?

Well, I'm feeling the same today.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart. O, take and seal it,
seal it for Thy courts above.

They've given you a number and taken away your name...

It's Agent Secret Man.

No matter how many times I tell Sweet T
that the right way to say it is
"Secret Agent Man,"
he still calls himself
Agent Secret Man.
And I don't know where he got that term anyway
in his three year old world.
It's not like we are sitting around listening to
Johnny Rivers' Greatest Hits
day and night or something.

I love playlist.
Now you guys can hear what is playing in my head.
There's an appropriate song for every situation in life.
And I like the opportunity to play a few of them for you.
I used to sing the appropriate song to my dear friend Tiffany
and this caused her to move across the country,
away from the sound of my voice.
All you guys have to do is turn off the juke box
if you don't want to hear this stuff.
But if I were there beside you in real life,
there's no turning me off.
I would be singing to you right now.
And the more annoyed you got,
the more I'd have to sing.
That's just the way it is, baby.

Rain Check

We were supposed to have a field trip today.

Field trips are really my thing this year. In years past, my kids were lucky if we did one in each semester. This year, I'd like to do one each week....right now anyway. Let me get a little further into this pregnancy and I won't want to leave the house.

And by the way, I must have hit the six month mark because I got all these e-mails yesterday and today from people wanting to sell stuff saying
"You're six months pregnant!!!"
It's so confusing to me to switch between weeks and months. Weeks are what we go by at the doctor and most younger people understand weeks
(there are forty of them).
But the general public wants to know in months---and if you go by weeks, you see that a pregnancy is actually ten months, not nine. I guess that actually depends on when you deliver, but your due date is based on a full term forty week pregnancy. I guess months were handier in years past when they didn't find out so early that they were pregnant and didn't nail down delivery dates with such finality. I have told my doctor several times that I feel like I am further along than what they are saying. Not much, but some. A little. But they are holding fast and firm to that January 9th due date.

And I hope I am not making you absolutely sick to death of hearing about this pregnancy. I was thinking the other day that I probably talk about it in some capacity on every single post. I know I'm not the first woman to ever have a baby and actually I feel like I don't get to talk about it in my regular life. People seem to expect you to be over all the normal pregnancy stuff by the time you're expecting #4, but it's still an exciting time to me. I still get excited about all the stuff of pregnancy---and I want to enjoy this one because in all likelihood it will be my last.
So anyway, I hope you aren't tired of hearing about it. This is just a big part of what fills my Ordinary Days right now. It won't last forever---and then I'll be talking about the new baby until you are sick of hearing about that.

Okay....if you recall the picture I posted
of Superbaby the other day,
perhaps you might have noticed something.
Superbaby, while he is still amazingly super,
is no longer a baby.
I have become very aware of this recently. The child has always been a little beyond his years, but especially lately. People look at me like I'm lying when I tell them he is three years old. He certainly doesn't talk like a three year old. And ninety per cent of the time he doesn't act like a three year old. He isn't a big boy, but he's tall for his age. And he has just lost that baby-ish look about him. He is so busy trying to keep up with Big E and Lovely K---and he doesn't fall far behind.
When my MIL was here
and we were cleaning out and going through things,
we found the little shin guards that I guess either Lovely K or Big E wore their first year of playing soccer. Superbaby was so thrilled to find them because they were his size. When we got ready for our first soccer games this past Saturday morning, he put on those shin guards and wore them all day at the ball park. He just wants to be as big as they are. And he speaks of his birthday at the end of January as though it is some magical time. He must think things are really going to change for him when he turns four. Like all these things he's been too little to do wil suddenly be open and available to him. Lloyd Dobbler and I were talking about this the other day and Lloyd Dobbler said he was glad another baby would soon be on the scene because when the youngest reaches this age, this is when he wants another to come along and fill that baby slot.

Anyway, I say all that to say this:
the child can't be Superbaby any more.
There'll be a new baby soon who will need the baby tag, so we need to rename him. So we have Lovely K and we have Big E and now we are going to change Superbaby to Sweet T. You will never meet a sweeter, more charming child so I thought that was a very appropriate name for him.
So Sweet T is is.
All in favor, raise your right hand.
Opposed, show like sign.
New name passes unanimously.

In other news:
We finally finished Mozart's biography yesterday. We enjoyed the book and I learned so much about the composer (which was the whole point of reading it, right?), but it really wasn't an entertaining book. The kids were sad for him to die at the end, but we were all glad to finish with that read aloud. This morning we went to the library and got Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for a change of pace and I also got that book about the Penderwick's which I have never read and know literally nothing about. Have any of you guys read it? Do you know the book I am talking about?
I have been reading George MacDonald since we went to Alabama (I don't have a lot of time for reading and it has to be at night, when the kids are in bed and I can be undisturbed) and I am so enjoying his writing. I'm finishing the first book and I have two more that I snagged from my MIL's shelves. I am just reading it leisurely and enjoying it. It's good fiction. I went so long (we're talking years) without reading fiction (except for the Mitford series) that I feel like this is just such a pleasant read. I am thoroughly enjoying it. And I love this author's style. I had never read George MacDonald before. And I saw a handful of his books at the library this morning---I hope they are not the three I already have.

To deflect the disappointment of the canceled field trip---that's what I started out to tell you about---we were going to go to The Big City (Nashville) with my parents and go for this ride on a boat there called the General Jackson. But our tickets were for the upper deck, which is exposed to the elements, and with the predictions of storms all day, my mom just called first thing and said we better not do it today. The tickets are good through the end of the month if we can find another day that we can go before then. And to deflect the disappointment of not getting to go, my mom and dad came over and picked up me and the kids and took us to breakfast at the Shoney's breakfast bar. My children are HUGE fans of the Shoney's breakfast bar. They love it. So there was little disappointment once they found out we were going there.

After the breakfast we went to the library and got new books. We came home and my mom read Sweet T's books to him and then she decided that she and Lovely K needed to practice making brownies that Lovely K can enter in the fair this coming week. Lovely K is desperate to make something to enter this year. So my mother and Lovely K made brownies from scratch while I lay down in the guest room and fell asleep. That's what rainy days are for, right? And it's such a rainy day. Right now it is pouring rain and thundering and it's just such a cozy, lazy day. I love it. We are having soup and grilled cheese sandwiches tonight and I'm just guessing that Big E will not have soccer practice after all this raining. It may still be raining by that time.
That's okay with me. I welcome another quiet night with my family snug in our house while the elements are nasty outside. The kids will be going to our home school co-op with my friend tomorrow. I have to get up at the crack of dawn to go see some doctor in The Big City (Lloyd Dobbler is taking off from work to go with me---so I'm glad I don't have to drive, I can just chill. Don't you like having your husband along with you when you aren't used to it? I don't know why that makes things easier, but it does.). So a nice quiet night at home is a fine way to end this cozy day for me.

Remember Martha?

Not too long ago I made a couple of Ms. Martha Stewart's recipes. I told you about it on here (I was going to put a little link to that post, but I couldn't find it so you'll just have to look through the last month or two of posts if you are desperate to read about my disappointment at those recipes). I anticipated these recipes thinking they might be that magical portal that would send me and my hungry family into a world of culinary bliss. This was not to be. When I was uploading pictures this morning (and being so proud of my little self), I came across two pictures I took of that stuff. Oh my. The first one appeared larger than life on my screen and it made every cell in my body say "YUCK!"

And then there was the whole
unappetizing meal on the plate.
Why did I expect this to be good?
Look at that blasted Tomato Provencal.
It looks bad, but believe me,
it tasted worse.
What a waste of perfectly good tomatoes.

Just thought I'd share that disgusting food with you.

You're welcome.

I did it! See for yourself.

Earlier this morning I found myself thinking that it was rather stupid that I had not uploaded any pictures from camera just because I don't know how. I mean, I hadn't even TRIED to do it.
How hard can it be?
Who am I---my parents--that I'm afraid one wrong move
will blow up the computer?
So I took great leaps and bounds for someone like me who is technologically challenge BIG TIME. I took the thing out of the camera and hooked up various cords to the computer.
And guess what?
It worked.
I feel so smart.
Maybe I'm not as technologically challenged as I thought.

I was so thrilled last night when rain canceled
our soccer practices. We had a quiet evening at home.
I loved it. I even took a picture of the table
as it stood ready, waiting for
food and people.

I wanted to show you an example of some of the work that was done in recent days. You've heard me go on and on about it. One major thing was the kitchen floor. We have this tile floor that our contractor said was sealed multiple times as I requested, but in truth, it had never been sealed at all. So after much work and heart ache, Lloyd Dobbler and his dad got it whipped into shape. This took so much more time and effort than they thought, but they got it done. The grout is white again and the whole floor is now sealed. I'm so glad. Isn't it great to be married to a hard-working man? They did such a good job.

In this picture with
Lovely K standing
in the kitchen, you can see
how dark the grout is.
It was black in places.
Looked horrible.
And I clean my kitchen floor
frequently. Then here
on the right, can you tell
the difference?
The grout is white again.
It looks SO MUCH better
in person. Looks like it did
when we first moved in.

Then there's another simple thing that was done during all this work that is something that I have wanted and am now so happy to have it. It was something that didn't even cross my mind when we were building. I'd never had an island in my kitchen before, so once we got moved in and I started working in this kitchen, I wished that I'd had them put an electrical outlet of some kind on that island. Fortunately, my father-in-law is an electrician. So one of the jobs on his list during their big work week was to install this item for me. It seems like a small thing, but Lloyd Dobbler told me is was a major pain to get done. Took a lot of time. But he did it. And here it is:


I love it. I have made cakes and pancakes on the island so far. I can plug in my little crock pot there now. I can plug in anything. I always lay out the food on the island buffet style when we have a bunch of people to eat, so now if I need to plug stuff in, I can.

I also got two mirrors switched that I had asked and asked and asked to have done. I couldn't do them myself because they had their strange space alien apparatuses that hooked them to the wall. I couldn't figure them out. But they got switched and now the two downstairs bathrooms are happier places because of it.

Coming soon:

Superbaby gets a new blog name.
Stay tuned.

Flashback to Sunday

I wanted to tell you guys about Sunday
---because I am sure not a day passes
that you don't wish you knew exactly
what was happening with your faithful Bell.
I'm sure you just pour over every tiny little detail.
I'm sure it's the center of your universe.
So who am I
to deny your pleasure
by with holding information?

Sunday was one of those lovely days. Very full and busy, but just a wonderful day all the way around. My in-laws were still here Sunday morning and my family was coming over for lunch, so I spent Saturday night getting food ready for the big lunch the next day.

Sunday was a special day for our family because Big E got baptized. He was supposed to get baptized a couple of weeks ago, but that fell through due to technical difficulties (someone forgot to fill the baptistery). So Sunday he was one of several who were baptized at our church.

Two of my friends were baptized that day
--grown women who have been saved for several years.
It was such a blessing to hear their testimonies.
Both of them had made a profession of faith
as very young children in church
and they had been baptized at that time.
One of them just continued being a little member of church and doing all the right things in her life until as a young mother she came to a point where she realized she had never acknowledged any sin in her life, had never really thought of herself as a sinner, and had been trusting in the fact that she filled out a card and told everyone she was a Christian and that was supposedly her experience. But as an adult, she came to realize that she was a sinner and needed a Savior. She committed her life to Christ several years ago but it was only recently that she became convicted about being baptized as a believer.
The other girl had stopped going to church sometime after her early salvation/baptism experience. It was not until she returned to the church as an older teenager that she came to a true saving faith in Jesus Christ and she recently became convicted about getting baptized again, this time as a believer. They gave such sweet testimonies. They are both good friends of mine who truly love the Lord and serve Him with their lives. It was a beautiful thing to see.

So after church, we had the big meal with both sets of grandparents and both my brothers and my sister-in-law. The food was good, if I have to say so myself. I made that BBQ sauce again that we got the recipe for from my good buddies and we had it with a smoked butt that came from them as well. It was very good. We had twice baked potatoes, seven layer salad, fruit salad, sliced tomatoes, watermelon, and something else that I just can't remember right now. For dessert we had coconut cream pie (my mother made those for Lloyd Dobbler's b-day) and brownies (for the coconut haters) and ice cream. It was a nice, cozy time with family. Very pleasant.

After lunch, my in-laws packed up and headed south. I am sure they were very ready to get back to their home and their life. We have commanded their time and energy and all that for a few weeks now. We had a lovely time together and go so very much done, but I think we were all ready to get back to our lives and our regular schedules. So they left for their sweet home Alabama and my family went home too and I actually laid down for a few minutes.

At church that evening, we had a guest speaker. Our family doctor, who we just LOVE LOVE LOVE, came to speak to our church family. He is a very strong Christian man, very godly and wise and just wonderful. I had no idea what to expect from him in this capacity however. I mean, in his office he prays with us, he quotes scripture, he gives great biblical advice, but I had never heard him deliver a message. I have to say though, never was a message more appropriate or more needed. It was probably the best thing that I have heard in my adult life. Lloyd Dobbler and I have talked about it since then and it has been such an eye-opener, such a conviction, such an encouragement. It was just a great thing. God really used it to speak to us. I feel certain that the rest of the congregation will have the same response.

After the church service, we had "food and fellowship." What do they call this at your church? They seem to want to call it an "afterglow" at our church. I don't really like that. But I don't remember what it has been called elsewhere. It's kind of like a potluck, but not really a meal. It's like a party with no theme and no purpose. Just a time of hanging out, eating and talking. Whatever you call it, it was a good time.

So that was our Sunday. A very good day.

I hope yours was good as well.

Monday Morning Moment

My children crack me up.

Friday at our home school co-op, I took Superbaby
into the restroom with me.
He didn't have to go; I did.
I gave him my purse to hold
and went into my little stall.
He felt very important and grown up
having this job.
He seated himself on the bench
and told me how well he was sitting there, waiting,
holding my purse.
Then he said,
in that same very grown up voice,
"If you need me to wipe you bottom,

Mama, I can do that for you."

Right now Superbaby and Big E

are in their new bedroom playing
SO VERY WELL
together.
(We are not having school today, by the way.)
I just heard Superbaby's little people saying to Big E's little people:
"We've got a dead man over here,
laying on the ground and doing nothing."
To this, Big E replied,
"Dead man alert.
Dead man alert."
What are those boys playing?!?!

It's Monday.
The in-laws left yesterday.
The house is clean.
The sky is gray and overcast.
I got up early and we have enjoyed
such a peaceful, pleasant morning.
We are not doing school today.
We are just chilling.
I so needed a day to chill.
I think we will go pay bills
and look at furniture stores
and buy a few groceries this afternoon.
Now this is my idea of a beautiful ordinary day.
Can't do this all the time,
but every once in a while,
you just need a day to CHILL.

Before the clock strikes midnight...

Today is a big day for Lloyd Dobbler.
It's the end of the thirties.
He's reached his limit.
When another year has rolled around,
he will be forty.
Forty years old.
He better enjoy this last year of youth, right?
It seems odd for me that my husband should be this age
...and stranger than that is that I am only lagging
a few years behind him.
What are we doing getting OLD?

"Growing up leads to growing old
Growing old leads to dying
and dying to me
doesn't sound like too much fun."

So we shouldn't grow up?
Is that what John Mellencamp meant
in that line from that song?

But today is Lloyd Dobbler's birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
LLOYD DOBBLER!!!!
What a nice guy he is. He worked on his birthday--not only worked but went on location to work at a prison. What a fun thing to do on your special day. We forced a special dinner on him when he came home and since then he has resumed his role as painter extraordinaire. He painted until after midnight last night. He thinks he'll be done before ten tonight. I hope so. Bless his little heart for having to do all this on his birthday. We're just right in the middle of so many things and we can't afford to waste time.

But I almost let this day slip past without blogging birthday wishes to him. What a tragedy that would be. I did add songs for him to the juke box. The first two. And maybe #10.

I am blessed to have Lloyd Dobbler as my husband. He is a blessing to my life and I can't imagine what course my life would have taken if I hadn't joined forces with him. I was thinking that tonight as he and I were across from each other at the table, his coconut birthday cake between us and our three beautiful children gathering closer and closer as we sang the birthday song and each one of them was hoping to blow out more candles than the other. We have a lovely life together, full of God's gracious blessings. We are so very blessed.

Happy birthday to my only one!

Two Out of Four Beatles

Remember when people thought Paul McCartney was dead because he was barefoot and holding his cigarette in the wrong hand on that one record album? The one where they are walking across a street. I personally don't remember that because it was really before my time. Not that anyone in my home when I was a baby was listening to the Beatles anyway. But I do remember hearing about that conspiracy theory or whatever it was---that he had died, that some look-alike guy was filling his place. Whatever. What would be the point of that?

Lovely K has been doing a lot more stuff
with fractions lately in math
and Big E has been doing more basic stuff with them.
I can tell I have simplistic fractions on the brain
because I was coming up here to write this post
and some little voice in my head was saying
"...there were four Beatles
and now there are only two.
How many Beatles were there all together?
That would be your denominator.
How many Beatles remain?
That would be your numerator."

Do you remember finding out that famous people died? I am thinking of three right now that I remember. When Princess Diana died, that was when Lloyd Dobbler had the constant travel job and it was very early on a Saturday morning and I was driving him to the airport. Somebody called in to the radio station and requested some song be played in memory of the princess. We thought that was so odd to request it in her memory since she wasn't dead---we didn't know. And then we got to the airport and it was on every screen.

I also remember when Frank Sinatra died because it was the night of the final Seinfeld. I remember thinking how glad Jerry must have been that it happened like during or closely after or thereabout (see how specific I am). It was enough after that it didn't steal thunder from the final Seinfeld. I'd hate for there to be a popularity showdown between Jerry Seinfeld and Frank Sinatra, wouldn't you? It's just not necessary.

I remember when Michael Jackson died because it just happened. We were at the softball fields on award night waiting for my son to get his little plastic trophy (which is a priceless treasure and source of pride for him). The little sister of one of my good friends in high school was there and saying that someone just texted her that Michael Jackson died and we were all kind of laughing and saying "yeah, right." I guess we didn't think you could weird yourself to death.

This is making me think of how people older than me
talk about where they were when Kennedy was shot
(and that leads me to one of my favorite lines
from When Harry Met Sally where Harry is dating
that young girl and right after they play Pictionary
he says he asked her where she was when Kennedy was shot
and she says "Ted Kennedy was shot!?!?"
--I don't know why, but that always makes me laugh
---and by the way,
Ted Kennedy is dead too now).

What a morbid little post
this is turning out to be.

All I meant to say
was that I heard a lot of Beatles songs
on the radio today. Turns out, it was the release
of their anthology. I guess that's nothing earth shattering.
But I didn't want to leave you wondering
if one of the last two Beatles had met his demise.

As far as I know, two out of four Beatles are still living.
Paul and Ringo would be your numerators.

I'll tell you this, in case you are keeping score at home and wonder why I haven't been telling you how I found the house when I returned home from Alabama----My MIL and I have been so busy since we got home. She has been working her end off, but that's what she likes to do and I am letting her. The kitchen floor looks great: the grout is actually white again and it is now sealed and I'm so happy. The dry wallers didn't destroy anything and the interior of my home was not covered in a layer of dry wall dust---only a layer of plastic, which is better.

Lloyd Dobbler is painting the bonus room tonight
(soon to be the boys' bedroom)
and tomorrow night he'll be painting
the boys' current room,
which will very soon be the nursery.
And then four hundred and seventy five other little things
have been done.
Just take my word
---we are making progress
here on the ranch.

Oh yeah....I went to the doctor today. The Nurse Practitioner that I see sometimes told me to just go ahead and expect this baby to be over eight pounds. I didn't care to hear that. She could have kept that to herself. And go ahead and start telling me those GOOD labor stories, girls. I'd like to hear those. I'd like to hear the little known secret that if you eat a cucumber with butter on it while standing on a street named after a president (or whatever the magic trick might be) that you won't experience any pain in childbirth. I read this book called something like Painfree Childbirth when I was pregnant with Lovely K. It had a lot of nice ideas in it, and it was kind of a mind-over-matter thing with Bible verses mixed in. I wouldn't recommend it.

Have a lovely day, Dear Reader.
Thank you for your comments lately.
I love to hear from you.
You are sweet potatoes
--all 1.5 of you!